Doula course- which course??! Any recommendations??

[twolittleducks]

Hi all,
I'm looking to do some training to become a doula but I'm not sure which course to do.. Can anyone recommend to me one they have done, I am able to attend workshops over 2 weekends or 3 day courses but I'm confused as to which one to go for ..

Would be grateful for any advice

The one in Bristol is the not Demestia it's the Holistic Birth Trust (or something like that).

I am a BF counsellor with the ABM.

Mrsmalumbas... the course comparisson that CBI publishes has several mistakes on it... Not very helpful.

pupuce- do you work for your local council???
Sorry all the ques, just trying to figure some things out at the mo

When I did the Paramana there were 12 of us.

I hope you enjoy it! And there's always an "advanced" doula (which is not what it's called) that NB do if you want more training.

British Doulas is an agency, as has been said. Much better to train and be recognised by DoulaUK.

No I work as a volunteer (unpaid) BF counsellor for our local BF clinic.
When I did Paramana 4 or 5 years ago, we were 8...but these days the groups are much bigger.

pupuce, was your local clinic supportive of you?? was thinking of tring to volunteer at local hospital as well, as i had remember having no support there..

and the other thing, what i wanted to know, was are the supportive in terms of i personally haven't had any training i am just a mum, with two breastfed babies who likes to read a lot!! do u think they would prefer someone with some degree of 'training'??

What do you want to volunteer as?

Like breastfeeding counsellor, without the actual training i just want to be able to help others really .. i am planning to train but just trying to get on a course

You can offer to help with "triage" at BF clinics... you need no qualification, they can often use the extra pair of hands and you get to hear/see loads about BF. I recommend it to anyone! At our clinic there is a woman ( a mum) who is "unqualified" and she often helps out.

Twolittleducks I would really highly recommend Paramana. I did it in 2004 and it was a fantastic preparation - I think there were around 14 of us but to be honest I don't think it matters if it is a big or small group with this particular training. There are not many points at which you discuss things as a group or have a chance to individually contribute - the main bulk is listening to Michel Odent and his theories and research on the physiology of birth and breastfeeding, so it really doesn't matter how many people are in the room.

The only thing that Paramana does not give you is a chance to debrief and work through your own experiences. I personally did not feel I needed to do much work in this area so it didn't bother me, but I would imagine that it is a bit different if you have had a traumatic experience or feel negative in any way regarding any parts of your birth and postnatal experience. I think it does make a difference to have thought about or possibly worked on your own stuff before you go out there and support other women. Good luck with whatever you choose!

thanks pupuce, that has filled me with some confidence, am going to clinic tomorrow to discuss

Thanks aravinda, im hoping i will enjoy it, i personally had two relativiley(sp?) easy labours and births, although first birth had crap after care, but im over that now!!

Hi pupuce just saw your message about the error on the site, if you know of anything specific that's wrong it would be great if you could let me know. We do e-mail the other organisations every six months to invite them to update their information but they don't always reply.

Aravinda I was interested in your comments on debriefing birth experiences. I actually think it is a really important part of the process of becoming a doula that you are able to do that. Regardless of whether those experiences were positive or negative. All students taking the CBI course are required to submit an assignment using reflective practice to review one of their birth experiences. If they haven't given birth they can reflect on another significant life experience. Almost all the students say that this assignment was really valuable for them, even life-changing in some cases. In fact reflective practise is woven through the entire course. This is the kind of learning that I just don't think it's possible to get on a weekend workshop, although I do also think face to face training has a value.

Mrs Malumbas

I totally agree with you on debriefing... even good experiences!!!
I can assure you CBI has never been in touch (as "we'rer CBI and we'd like to know...") with at least 2 of the trainers listed on their site comparisson. I will follow it up as you suggested.
I personally know all the DUK recognised trainers and I suspect it's not 2 but all of them.

does anyone know of anyone who completed La Leche League b/f counsellor course????

pupuce - thanks for your message, I'll mention it to our website manager, we are due for an update, it's probably been a while since the last one. Thanks for the tip-off anyway, it's annoying when people post links and they are not up to date so I'll get on to that asap!

Mrsmalumbas... My point is CBI has never (ever) contacted some of these course providers - I have just checked with 2 of them- which is not what you implied (and why would the course provider share that info anyway?).... the info is inaccurate so it's mis-leading. I always find it "weird" when a company offers comparison of its own products to that of its competititors... even more so if that info is incorrect... it could be seen as libellous... and it's not a very good advert!

Hi Pupuce well if you know of any specific inacuracies then I apologise. I am not personally responsible for the web content but I have alerted the person who keeps the site up to date. If would be helpful if you know of anything specific that is wrong to drop me a line at [email protected] and I'll make sure it's put right.

twolittleducks, I feel sorry your request for info and support has turned into a doula trainer war. Could we please try and keep this thread positive, focussed and supportive to the OP ladies?

There are loads of doulas on here who will be only too happy to chat and offer info as some already have further down the thread, and I would recommend contacting doulas in your local area to see if they are willing to chat about their experiences and possibly meet up with you. Please bear in mind that whatever training and preperation you do will really only be the icing on the cake, your heart is obviously in supporting women during birth and postnatal period. It is possible for any woman to go out there and do this without doing a weekend workshop or correspondance course. Working with women and babies and offering lay support and compassion do not actually require a formal training and the experience you gain when you begin attending births, learning about the childbearing year and networking with other doulas is actually the best preparation you can get.

Best wishes twolittleducks

Completely agree Aravinda - women have been doula'ing for millions of years without it ever being called that, or any training being involved. Formal training can be nice to have though as a way of boosting confidence. Good luck twolittleducks and apologies for hijacking your thread! feel free to e-mail me off list if I can help re distance learning.